Multi-node reactor for producing a cyclized nuclear fusion reaction

ABSTRACT

A controlled fusion process is provided that can produce a sustained series of fusion reactions: a process that (i) uses a substantially higher reactant density of the deuterium and tritium gases by converging cationic reactants into the higher reaction density at a target cathode rather than relying on random collisions, the converging producing a substantially higher rate of fusion and energy production; (ii) uses a substantially lower input of energy to initiate the fusion; (iii) can be cycled at a substantially higher cycle frequency; (iv) has a practical heat exchange method; (v) is substantially less costly to manufacture, operate, and maintain; and, (vi) has a substantially improved reaction efficiency as a result of not mixing reactants with products.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.16/943,837, filed Jul. 30, 2020, which is a continuation U.S.application Ser. No. 15/601,980, filed May 22, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No.10,770,186, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/720,894, filed May 25, 2015, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/002,922, filed May 26, 2014, each ofwhich is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND Field of the Invention

The teachings provided herein are generally directed to systems andmethods for obtaining nuclear fusion energy using a high energy chargedparticle convergence at a target cathode to increase the amount offusion energy produced in a single fusion cycle.

Description of the Related Art

Most will agree that our world needs better sources of energy, sourcethat are more efficient and would reduce the threat to the environmentcreated by our current energy sources. In fact, most will agree that anuncompromising new energy architecture/paradigm is required to allowcontinued societal development and to avoid habitat and species loss.Current energy usage rewards a small minority of the population to thedisadvantage of the majority and environmental quality. The combustionof carbon based fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) is still used primarilyworldwide and still produces deleterious environmental effects in theform of elevated CO₂ concentrations that is polluting our world andcausing at least atmospheric warming and ocean chemistry changes.Ultimately, a future should be planned that addresses these issues asopposed to continued reliance on a strict capitalistic theory that willinevitably fail to meet the range of societal and environmental needs.An inexhaustible energy source will provide a basis for an economicstructure that can be controlled without short-term tradeoffs that canbe politically instituted.

Many consider the possibility of the nuclear fusion power plant to bethe best answer to the problem. One reason is that nuclear fusion istheoretically more efficient, requiring only about one millionth of themass of fuel needed to produce the same amount of energy as a coaloperating power plant. Another reason is that the fuel sources fornuclear fusion would be virtually unlimited, as these fuels are readilyavailable. Another reason that nuclear fusion is desirable is that itdoesn't suffer from diseconomies of scale—water and wind energy, forexample, suffer from diseconomies as the optimal locations are used upand only less optimal locations remain, in addition to the fact thatwind and water sources can vary, whereas fusion reactant sources remainreliable, as they are continuous, consistent, and abundant. Finally, itis believed that the nuclear fusion would offer a much safer process.For at least these reasons, the goal of producing fusion power toproduce electricity has been pursued for decades and has been met withmany problems that have not been solved; for example, there is still nocontrolled fusion process that can produce a sustained series of fusionreactions.

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate nuclear fusion between deuterium and tritium,according to some prior art embodiments. As shown in FIG. 1A, the fusionbetween a first reactant that is deuterium, ²H, with a second reactantthat is tritium, ³H, creates helium-4, ⁴He. The fusion also frees aneutron and releases 17.59 MeV of energy as heat. FIG. 1B shows theelectrostatic force between the positively charged, cationic reactants,deuterium and tritium.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate state-of-the-art nuclear fusion reactors,according to some prior art embodiments. FIG. 2A illustrates a laserinertial fusion energy (LIFE) system 200 in which fusion 205 takes placein an evacuated 12 meter diameter steel chamber 210. Sixteen times asecond, a 2 millimeter diameter target of deuterium-tritium fuel 215 isinjected into the chamber, each target containing only about 0.7 mg oftritium, and each day about 1.3 million targets can be injected into theLIFE system 200 at a velocity of about 250 meters per second. And, theLIFE system 200 delivers 2 megajoule (MJ), 351 nanometer laser 230pulses to indirect-drive fusion targets 215. The repeated fusion 205reactions heat a lithium blanket surrounding the chamber, and the heat220 generated, typically at about 600° C., is used to drive a steamturbine generator (not shown) to produce up to 1500 megawatts ofbaseload electricity from each plant. The chamber is filled with xenongas 225 to protect the chamber 210 from ions and x-rays that aregenerated by the fusion 205 process in addition to the helium-4, ⁴He,and heat energy. Unfortunately, this technology has not beensuccessfully scaled to produce a power plant, as the system is limitedto use of a low reactant density of the deuterium and tritium gaseswhich produces only random collisions and, thus, a low production ofenergy. Moreover, an unreasonably high energy is required to initiatethe fusion, the system can only be cycled at a slow cycle frequency dueto target loading and laser charging limitations, and there is nopractical heat exchange method. It is a costly and inefficient systemthat leaves costly reactants unreacted due to the low reaction densitiesinherent to the design.

FIG. 2B illustrates an international thermonuclear experimental reactor(ITER) system 250 in which fusion takes place in a donut-shaped vacuumvessel called a tokamak 260. An electromagnet (not shown) conductselectricity through the center of the tokamak 260 to produce a voltage(not shown) across gas reactants deuterium, ²H, and tritium, ³H, thathave been injected 265 in the tokamak 260, the voltage ripping electronsfrom the deuterium, ²H, and tritium, ³H, to ionize the deuterium, ²H,and tritium, ³H, into cationic reactants. The ionized, cationicreactants form a plasma 270. Magnetic coils 275 are used to compress andconfine the plasma 270 to keep it away from the walls of the tokamak 260and protect the tokamak 260 from the high temperatures that aredeveloped in the plasma. The magnetic coils 275 also generate a currentin the plasma 270, heating it to 10 million ° C. which, unfortunately,is still not hot enough for fusion to occur. To raise the temperature to100-200 million ° C., which is hot enough for fusion to occur,radiowaves and microwaves 280 are fired into the plasma. Unfortunately,this technology has not been successfully scaled to produce a powerplant, and the system is also limited to the use of deuterium andtritium gases at a low reactant density which produces a low reactionrate and low production of energy. In addition, an especiallyproblematic condition is that the reaction products are not removed but,rather, mix with the reactants and slow the reaction rate. Moreover,cycling of the process is impractical due to the large volume of thesystem which demands a long pump-out time. As with the LIFE system 200,there is no practical heat exchange method in the ITER system 250, andthe ITER system 250 is costly to manufacture, maintain, and operate dueto its complexity and inefficiencies. Although there are theoreticaldesigns for a reactor that is hoped to deliver ten times more fusionenergy than the amount needed to heat up the plasma 270 to the requiredtemperatures for fusion to occur, the ITER facility is still notexpected to finish its construction phase until at least 2019 and is notexpected to begin full deuterium-tritium fusion until at least 2027.

Given the above, it should be appreciated that those of skill willappreciate a controlled fusion process that can produce a sustainedseries of fusion reactions. Namely, a process that (i) uses asubstantially higher reactant density of the deuterium and tritium gasesby converging cationic reactants into the higher reaction density at atarget cathode rather than relying on random collisions, the convergingproducing a substantially higher rate of fusion and energy production;(ii) uses a substantially lower input of energy to initiate the fusion;(iii) can be cycled at a substantially higher cycle frequency; (iv) hasa practical heat exchange method; (v) is substantially less costly tomanufacture, operate, and maintain; and, (vi) has a substantiallyimproved reaction efficiency as a result of not mixing reactants withproducts.

SUMMARY

The teachings provided herein are generally directed to systems andmethods for obtaining nuclear fusion energy using a high energy chargedparticle convergence at a target cathode to increase the amount offusion energy produced in a single fusion cycle. Namely, the teachingsprovide a controlled fusion process that can produce a sustained seriesof fusion reactions: a process that (i) uses a substantially higherreactant density of the deuterium and tritium gases by convergingcationic reactants into the higher reaction density at a target cathoderather than relying on random collisions, the converging producing asubstantially higher rate of fusion and energy production; (ii) uses asubstantially lower input of energy to initiate the fusion; (iii) can becycled at a substantially higher cycle frequency; (iv) has a practicalheat exchange method; (v) is substantially less costly to manufacture,operate, and maintain; and, (vi) has a substantially improved reactionefficiency as a result of not mixing reactants with products.

For example, the teachings include a method of producing an at leastsubstantially continuous electrical energy from a cyclized nuclearfusion reaction, comprising evacuating a reaction chamber to a pressurethat is lower than about 10⁻³ torr; inducing a pulse of (i) a firstreactant into the evacuated reaction chamber through a first reactantport and a pulse of (ii) a second reactant into the evacuated reactionchamber through a second reactant port; and, converging the firstreactant with the second reactant at a target cathode for colliding andfusing the first reactant with the second reactant to create a heatenergy. The converging can include, for example, creating an electricalfield in the reaction chamber by applying a voltage across an anodesurface positioned in the interior of the reaction chamber and a cathodesurface positioned in the interior of the reaction chamber, the electricfield ionizing the first reactant to generate a cationic first reactantand ionizing the second reactant to generate a cationic second reactant.In addition, the converging can include establishing a negative chargeon the target cathode for attracting and converging the cationic firstreactant and the cationic second reactant at the target cathode forcolliding and fusing the cationic first reactant with the cationicsecond reactant to create the heat energy.

The method can include transferring the heat energy to a steam vessel todrive a turbine to create an electrical energy. The method can be cyclicby replacing the target cathode with a replacement target cathode tocomplete a first cycle of the nuclear fusion method; and, repeating theevacuating, inducing, applying, converging, transferring, and replacingfor n additional cycles of the nuclear fusion method, wherein n is aninteger that produces an at least substantially continuous electricalenergy from the nuclear fusion reaction.

One of skill will appreciate that the first reactant and second reactantcan be any reactant useful in producing a fusion reaction using themethods and systems taught herein. For example, the first reactant andsecond reactant can each be independently selected from the groupconsisting of deuterium, tritium, and helium-3, boron-11, lithium-6, anda proton, in some embodiments. In some embodiments, the first reactantand the second reactant are independently selected from the groupconsisting of deuterium, tritium, and helium. In some embodiments, thefirst reactant is deuterium and the second reactant is tritium. In someembodiments, the first reactant is deuterium and the second reactant isdeuterium. In some embodiments, the first reactant is tritium and thesecond reactant is tritium. In some embodiments, the first reactant isdeuterium and the second reactant is helium-3. In some embodiments, thefirst reactant is helium-3 and the second reactant is helium-3. In someembodiments, the first reactant is a proton and the second reactant isboron-11. And, in some embodiments, the first reactant is a proton andthe second reactant is lithium-6.

One of skill will appreciate that the pressure in the reaction chambercan be varied to any pressure that one of skill will find useful in themethods and systems provided herein. For example, the pressure in theevacuated reaction chamber can range from about 10⁻⁴ torr to about 10⁻⁹torr in some embodiments, and from about 10⁻⁶ torr to about 10⁻⁹ torr insome embodiments.

The teachings are also directed to a system that can be used inpracticing the methods taught herein. For example, the teachings includea system for producing an at least substantially continuous electricalenergy from a cyclized nuclear fusion reaction. In some embodiments, thesystem comprises a reaction vessel having a reaction chamber configuredfor evacuation of the chamber to a pressure that is lower than about10⁻³ torr; a vacuum port adapted for an operable connection to a vacuumsource for evacuating the reaction chamber to a pressure that is lowerthan about 10⁻³ torr; a first injector in operable communication with afirst reactant port in the evacuated reaction chamber for inducing apulse of a first reactant into the evacuated reaction chamber throughthe first reactant port; a second injector in operable communicationwith a second reactant port in the evacuated reaction chamber forinducing a pulse of a second reactant into the evacuated reactionchamber through the second reactant port; an anode surface and a cathodesurface for operably connecting to a voltage source, the anode surfaceand the cathode surface positioned in the interior of the reactionchamber to create an electric field in the evacuated reaction chamberupon application of a voltage, the electric field ionizing the firstreactant to generate a cationic first reactant and ionizing the secondreactant to generate a cationic second reactant; a target cathodepositioned in the reaction chamber at a first distance from the firstinjector and a second distance from the second injector, the targetcathode configured to function as a negatively charged electrode forattracting and converging the cationic first reactant and the cationicsecond reactant at the target cathode for colliding and fusing thecationic first reactant with the cationic second reactant to create aheat energy; a steam chamber in operable contact with the reactionchamber, the steam chamber configured for receiving the heat energy fromthe fusion reaction in the reaction chamber.

One of skill will also appreciate that the first reactant port and thesecond reactant port can include a configured nozzle, designed for aparticular embodiment. For example, nozzle flow design can be varied tochange the shape and speed of the first reactant from the first reactantport and the shape and speed of the second reactant from the secondreactant port. In some embodiments, the pulse of the first reactant orthe pulse of the second reactant is applied as a convergent flow on thetarget electrode. In some embodiments, the pulse of the first reactantor the pulse of the second reactant is applied as a divergent flow onthe target electrode. And, in some embodiments, the pulse of the firstreactant or the pulse of the second reactant is applied as a fan patternon the target electrode.

It should also be appreciated that the nozzle design can beindependently selected for each of the first injector and the secondinjector. For example, the first injector can be configured forinjecting deuterium and the second injector can be configured forinjecting tritium. The first injector can be configured for injectingdeuterium and the second injector can be configured for injectingdeuterium. The first injector can be configured for injecting tritiumand the second injector can be configured for injecting tritium.

Likewise, one of skill will appreciate that the reaction chamber can beconfigured to operate at any pressure that one of skill will find usefulin the methods and systems provided herein. For example, the reactionchamber can be configured to operate in the pressure range from about10⁻⁴ torr to about 10⁻⁹ torr in some embodiments, and from about 10⁻⁶torr to about 10⁻⁹ torr in some embodiments.

One of skill will appreciate that the positioning of the first reactantport, the second reactant port, and the target cathode can be adjustedto vary the first distance between the first reactant port and thetarget cathode and the second distance between the second reactant portand the target electrode. In some embodiments, the first distance andthe second distance are at least substantially the same. In someembodiments, the first distance and the second distance are varied tocalibrate and synchronize the collision between the cationic firstreactant and the cationic second reactant. Likewise, one of skill willalso appreciate that the negative charge on the target cathode can bevaried to calibrate and synchronize the collision between the cationicfirst reactant and the cationic second reactant. Moreover, one of skillcan vary the first distance, the second distance, and the charge on thetarget cathode to calibrate and synchronize the collision between thecationic first reactant and the cationic second reactant.

One of skill will appreciate that the size of the target cathode can bevaried for any of a variety of operational considerations. In someembodiments, for example, the target electrode can have an area rangingfrom about from about 1.00×10⁻¹⁰ m² to about 1.00×10⁻⁶ m².

One of skill will appreciate that the target cathode can be constructedof a variety of different materials. For example, the target cathode canbe any conducting material. In some embodiments, the target cathode cancomprise a metal. In some embodiments, for example, the target cathodecan be comprised of aluminum, an aluminum alloy, or copper. In someembodiments, the target cathode can be comprised of a metal selectedfrom the group consisting of aluminum, antimony, barium, bismuth, boron,carbon (e.g., amorphous, diamond, graphene, graphite), cadmium, calcium,chromium, cobalt, copper, gold, iridium, iron, lead, magnesium,manganese, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, platinum, potassium, rhenium,silver, sodium, steel, tantalum, tellurium, tin, titanium, tungsten,uranium, vanadium, zinc, and alloys thereof. The target cathode cancomprise a semiconductor or conductive polymer, in some embodiments.

In some embodiments, one or more shields can be used to protect thefirst reactant port and the second reactant port from the heat and/orproducts of the fusion reaction. As such, in some embodiments, thesystems can further comprise a shield between the first injector and thetarget electrode, between the second injector and the target electrode,or a combination thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate nuclear fusion between deuterium and tritium,according to some prior art embodiments.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate state-of-the-art nuclear fusion reactors,according to some prior art embodiments.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate a system and method for obtaining nuclearfusion energy using a high energy charged particle collision, accordingto some embodiments.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate a reactor node having multiple reactant portsprotected by a reactant nozzle shield in a system and method forobtaining nuclear fusion energy using a high energy charged particlecollision, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a process flow chart for obtaining nuclear fusion energy usinga high energy charged particle collision through a reactor node havingmultiple reactant ports protected by a reactant nozzle shield, accordingto some embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional top view (or bottom view) of a multi-node,high vacuum reactor for obtaining nuclear fusion energy using a highenergy charged particle collision, each reactor node having multiplereactant ports protected by a reactant nozzle shield and a targetelectrode, according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 7A-7E include a perspective view of a portion of a multi-node,high vacuum reactor for obtaining nuclear fusion energy using a highenergy charged particle collision, each reactor node having multiplereactant ports protected by a reactant nozzle shield and a targetelectrode, in addition to insulated target electrode assemblies,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 8 shows an expanded view of a portion of a multi-node, high vacuumreactor for obtaining nuclear fusion energy using a high energy chargedparticle collision, including reactor nodes in a high vacuum reactorchamber, reactant injector ports with injector valves for each node, atarget tray with cassettes providing replacement target electrodes, anda steam chamber for capturing and moving nuclear fusion energy in theform of steam to a steam turbine to create electricity, according tosome embodiments.

FIGS. 9A-9F shows a multi-node, high vacuum reactor chamber havingreactant injector ports for each node, and an insulated target electrodeused in each node, according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 10A-10D illustrate a target load/switch-out assembly withcassettes providing replacement target electrodes, according to someembodiments.

FIGS. 11A-11D illustrate cassettes for the target tray for changing outthe spent target cathodes from each fusion reaction, each cassetteproviding 5 trays, each of the 5 trays providing sixteen (16)replacement target electrodes, according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 12A-12D illustrate a steam chamber for capturing and movingnuclear fusion energy in the form of steam to a steam turbine to createelectricity, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 13 illustrates a cross-sectional bottom view of a multi-node, highvacuum reactor for obtaining nuclear fusion energy using a high energycharged particle collision, including reactor nodes in a high vacuumreactor chamber, reactant injector ports for each node, and a steamchamber for capturing and moving nuclear fusion energy in the form ofsteam to a steam turbine to create electricity, according to someembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Systems and methods are provided herein for obtaining nuclear fusionenergy using a high energy charged particle convergence at a targetcathode to increase the amount of fusion energy produced in a singlefusion cycle.

Namely, a controlled fusion process is provided that can produce asustained series of fusion reactions: a process that (i) uses asubstantially higher reactant density of the deuterium and tritium gasesby converging cationic reactants into the higher reaction density at atarget cathode rather than relying on random collisions, the convergingproducing a substantially higher rate of fusion and energy production;(ii) uses a substantially lower input of energy to initiate the fusion;(iii) can be cycled at a substantially higher cycle frequency; (iv) hasa practical heat exchange method; (v) is substantially less costly tomanufacture, operate, and maintain; and, (vi) has a substantiallyimproved reaction efficiency as a result of not mixing reactants withproducts.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate a system for obtaining nuclear fusion energyusing a high energy charged particle collision, according to someembodiments. In some embodiments, the systems and methods can produce anat least substantially continuous electrical energy from a cyclizednuclear fusion reaction. As shown in FIG. 3A, the system can comprise areaction vessel 300 having a reaction chamber 305 configured forevacuation of the chamber 305 to a pressure that is lower than about10⁻³ torr; a vacuum port 310 adapted for an operable connection to avacuum source 315 for evacuating the reaction chamber 305 to a pressurethat is lower than about 10⁻³ torr; a first injector 320 in operablecommunication with a first reactant port 325 in the evacuated reactionchamber 305 for inducing a pulse of a first reactant, tritium (³H) 329into the evacuated reaction chamber 305 through the first reactant port325; a second injector 340 in operable communication with a secondreactant port 345 in the evacuated reaction chamber 305 for inducing apulse of a second reactant 349, deuterium (²H) into the evacuatedreaction chamber 305 through the second reactant port 345; an anodesurface 360 and a cathode surface 365 for operably connecting to avoltage source (not shown), the anode surface 360 and the cathodesurface 365 positioned in the interior of the reaction chamber 305 tocreate an electric field in the evacuated reaction chamber 305 uponapplication of a voltage 360, 365, the electric field ionizing the firstreactant 329 to generate a cationic first reactant 330 and ionizing thesecond reactant 349 to generate a cationic second reactant 350; a targetcathode 365 positioned in the reaction chamber 305 at a first distance(distance between 325 and 365) from the first injector 325 and a seconddistance (distance between 345 and 365) from the second injector 340,the target cathode 365 configured to function as a negatively chargedelectrode for attracting and converging the cationic first reactant 330and the cationic second reactant 350 at the target cathode 365 forcolliding and fusing the cationic first reactant 330 with the cationicsecond reactant 350 to create a heat energy; a steam chamber 380 inoperable contact with the reaction chamber 305, the steam chamber 380configured for receiving the heat energy 375 from the fusion 355reaction in the reaction chamber 305. The voltage applied to attract andconverge the cationic reactants 330, 350 at the target cathode 365 canbe referred to as the “bias”, in some embodiments, indicating the use ofvoltage to generate a force to transport the cationic reactants 330, 350to the target cathode 365 for the collision and fusion.

FIG. 3B provides an enlarged view of the target cathode 365 and it'sinsulator 367. The cationic first reactant 329, tritium (³H) and thecationic second reactant 329, deuterium (²H) are shown as attracted andconverging to the target cathode 365 for colliding and fusing to createthe heat energy 375. As opposed to the random distribution and randomcollision present in current state of the art fusion technologies, thesystems and methods provided herein substantially increase the reactantdensity, and fusion rate, when compared to the current state of the artfusion technologies. In some embodiments, each of the reactant densityand fusion rate can be said that it is “substantially greater than” astate-of-the-art process, or can be referred to as “substantiallyincreasing” over a state-of-the-art process, when it increases by about2×, about 3×, about 5×, about 10×, about 15×, about 20×, about 25×,about 30×, about 40×, about 50×, about 60×, about 70×, about 80×, about90×, about 100×, about 200×, about 300×, about 400×, about 500×, about600×, about 700×, about 800×, about 900×, or any amount therein inincrements of 1×. Likewise, in some embodiments, each of the reactantdensity and fusion rate can be said that it is “substantially greaterthan” a state-of-the-art process, or can be referred to as“substantially increasing” over a state-of-the-art process, when itincreases by about 10³, about 10⁴, about 10⁵, about 10⁶, about 10⁷,about 10⁸, about 10⁹, about 10¹⁰, about 10¹¹, about 10¹², about 10¹³,about 10¹⁴, about 10¹⁵, or any amount therein in increments of0.500×10³. The reactant density and fusion rate can be measured andcompared to a state-of-the-art process in any manner known to one ofskill to provide an acceptable comparable measure. For example, theexothermicity of the fusion output, the energy produced, normalized tothe amount of reactants injected, can provide an acceptable comparablemeasure of at least fusion rate, and possibly an indirect comparablemeasure of reactant density, in some embodiments. Likewise theelectricity produced from a steam turbine that uses the energy from thefusion to produce electrical power per, based on a normalization of theamount of reactants injected, can provide an acceptable comparablemeasure of at least fusion rate, and possibly an indirect comparablemeasure of reactant density, in some embodiments. The efficiency of theprocess can also be considered in the comparable measures, for example,perhaps to further normalize the comparisons to further compare theinstant systems and methods to the current state-of-the-art usingreaction efficiency, cost efficiency, and the like. One of skill can useany metric that is considered acceptable in the art to compare theinstant systems and methods to the current state-of-the-art, forexample, the ITER system or the LIFE system.

The small size and negative charge of the target focuses the convergenceof the reactants. It should be appreciated that the surface area of thetarget cathode can be varied as a process variable in order to adjust,for example the reaction density, rate of reaction, and/or energyproduced by the fusion reaction. One of skill will appreciate that anyarea that works with the principles of the teachings provided herein canbe used. In some embodiments, the surface area of the target can bedefined as the front and back surface only, disregarding the surface onthe edge of the target. In some embodiments, the target cathode can haveany configuration that serves to attract the first reactant and thesecond reactant in a convergent manner to at least one point ofcollision.

In some embodiments, there is more than one point of collision and, insome embodiments, there are many points, areas, or planes of collisionsuch as more than 3, more than 5, more than 10, more than 20, more than50, more than 100, and so on. The number of points of collision can be avariable selected to increase the operation efficiency of the system.For example, in some embodiments, the target cathode can be in the formof a scaffolding, cage, or mesh structure each carrying a negativecharge on areas that represent a variety of planes for collision, asopposed to a planar structure with, perhaps, two primary planar surfacescarrying a negative charge, such as the target cathode disc shown inFIG. 3B. The target cathode disc shown in FIG. 3B has a front planarsurface, a back planar surface, and a small surface around thecircumference of the disc. As the charged particles approach the discfrom different directions, attracted by the negative charge, the anglesof their approaches to impinge on the charged surface of the disc arehighly variable. A basket, screen, or mesh target cathode may facilitatethe impingement of the cationic reactants from just about any angle ofimpingement on the target cathode that may occur in the reactionchamber. Moreover, reactants can come close to the target cathode andmiss it, and a cage-type structure, or a structure having even morecharged surfaces in layers, may facilitate a higher efficiency ofimpingement of the cationic reactants on the target cathode. In someembodiments, a cage can be any shape desired, such as a spherical cage,ellipsoid cage, cubical cage, polyhedral cage, conical cage, cylindricalcage and the like. The cage can be used as a second component incombination with a primary target cathode, for example, in combinationwith the disc-shaped cathode in FIG. 3B. The primary cathode in FIG. 3B,for example, can have a cylindrical or conical cathode cage added toboth sides of the primary target cathode to help capture, confine orfocus the beams of reactants approaching the primary target cathode.Such a secondary component can carry a positive charge to help focus thecationic reactants toward the cathode, in some embodiments.

In some embodiments, the area of the target can be on the surface of adisc, a sphere, an ellipsoid, cube, polyhedron, and the like, as well asthe same or similar shapes but manufactured using screen or meshmaterials to provide several conductive surfaces in the form of ascaffolding, cage, or basket, for example, that can be approached fromabout any angle of impingement that may occur from a reactant. In someembodiments, the surface area can range from about 1.3648×10⁻¹⁰ m² toabout 1.3648×10⁻⁶ m², from about 1.3648×10⁻⁹ m² to about 1.3648×10⁻⁷ m²,from about 1.00×10⁻¹⁰ m² to about 1.00×10⁻⁶ m², about 1.3648×10⁻⁸ m²,about 1.00×10⁻⁸ m², about 10⁻¹¹ m², 10⁻¹⁰ m², 10⁻⁹ m², 10⁻⁸ m², 10⁻⁷ m²,10⁻⁶ m², 10⁻⁵ m², or any range therein.

One of skill will appreciate that the voltage between an anode surfaceand a cathode surface in the systems and methods can be varied and areselected to be large enough to (i) create a sufficient electric field toionize the reactants, (ii) overcome the like-charge repulsion to enablethe first reactant and the second reactant to collide sufficiently forfusion, and (iii) drive the convergence of the reactants to create thehigh reactant density at the target cathode and measured as the averagedensity over the entire surface area of the target cathode. As such, insome embodiments, where the voltage is between the target cathode and ananode surface and is sufficiently large enough to create the convergenceof the reactants towards the target cathode and the force of collisionrequired for the fusion between the first reactant and the secondreactant. Likewise, the voltage between the target cathode and the anodesurface can also be used in the creation of the electric field, in someembodiments, to ionize the first reactant and the second reactant intocationic first reactant and cationic second reactant, respectively. Insome embodiments, the voltage can range from about 10 kV to about 30 MV,from about 15 kV to about 30 MV, from about 20 kV to about 30 MV, fromabout 30 kV to about 30 MV, from about 15 kV to about 25 MV, from about15 kV to about 20 MV, from about 10 kV to about 10 MV, from about 15 kVto about 10 MV, from about 15 kV to about 5 MV, from about 40 kV toabout 5 MV, from about 50 kV to about 5 MV, from about 100 kV to about 5MV, from about 250 kV to about 5 MV, from about 500 kV to about 5 MV,from about 500 kV to about 2 MV, from about 1 MV to about 5 MV, fromabout 1 MV to about 3 MV, from about 1 MV to about 2 MV, or any range ofvoltages therein in increments of 1 kV. In some embodiments, the voltagecan be about 10 kV, about 11 kV, about 12 kV, about 13 kV, about 14 kV,about 15 kV, about 20 kV, about 25 kV, about 30 kV, about 35 kV, about40 kV, about 45 kV, about 50 kV, about 60 kV, about 70 kV, about 80 kV,about 90 kV, about 100 kV, about 200 kV, about 300 kV, about 400 kV,about 500 kV, about 600 kV, about 700 kV, about 800 kV, about 900 kV,about 1 MV, about 2 MV, about 3 MV, about 4 MV, about 5 MV, about 10 MV,about 15 MV, about 20 MV, about 25 MV, about 30 MV, or any voltagetherein, or range of voltages therein, in increments of 1 kV. In someembodiments, the voltage is greater than about 15 kV, greater than about20 kV, greater than about 25 kV, greater than about 30 kV, greater thanabout 35 kV, greater than about 40 kV, greater than about 45 kV, greaterthan about 50 kV, or greater than any kV between 15 kV and 50 kV inincrements of 1 kV. The kV can be constant, or it can be varied, in theoperation of a system or method taught herein. Variable frequencyelectric fields can also be used. In some embodiments, a variablefrequency field can be used, for example, to increase the ionizationefficiency of the ionization step to create the cationic reactants.

Given the teachings of the systems and methods provided herein, itshould also be appreciated that the design is adapted to provide asubstantially higher reactant density than currently provided by thestate-of-the-art. And, one of skill will appreciate that, as thereactant density increases, the energy output of the system willsubstantially increase per cycle over the current state-of-the-artprocesses, and the total energy output of the system will likewisesubstantially increase over the current state-of-the-art processes.

The substantially higher performance of the systems and methods taughtherein over the current state-of-the-art processes can be established inany manner considered acceptable to one skilled in the art. In someembodiments, for example, the reactant density can represent mass/volumeand can range from about 1.5×10³ g/cm³ to about 1.5×10¹⁰ g/cm³normalized as an average reactant density over the entire surface of thetarget electrode. In some embodiments, the reactant density can rangefrom about 1.5×10⁵ g/cm³ to about 1.5×10¹⁰ g/cm³ normalized as anaverage reactant density over the entire surface of the targetelectrode. In some embodiments, the reactant density can range fromabout 1.5×10⁸ g/cm³ to about 1.5×10¹⁰ g/cm³ normalized as an averagereactant density over the entire surface of the target electrode. Insome embodiments, the reactant density can range from about 1.5466×10¹⁰g/cm³ normalized as an average reactant density over the entire surfaceof the target electrode. This is a very significant, surprising andunexpected increase in reactant density over the currentstate-of-the-art, as the LIFE system (See FIG. 2A) has a reactantdensity of only about 1000 g/cm³, according to some measures.

In some embodiments, the substantially higher reactant density of theinstant systems and methods as compared to the current state-of-the-artprocesses can be represented by using a measure of the monolayer ofnuclei that converge on the surface of the target cathode. In someembodiments, for example, the monolayer reactant density can range fromabout 10³ nuclei/m² to about 10²⁹ nuclei/m² normalized as an averagemonolayer reactant density over the entire surface of the targetelectrode. In some embodiments, for example, the monolayer reactantdensity can range from about 10⁴ nuclei/m² to about 10²⁹ nuclei/m²normalized as an average monolayer reactant density over the entiresurface of the target electrode. In some embodiments, for example, themonolayer reactant density can range from about 10⁵ nuclei/m² to about10²⁸ nuclei/m² normalized as an average monolayer reactant density overthe entire surface of the target electrode, or any range therein. Insome embodiments, for example, the monolayer reactant density can beabout 10³ nuclei/m², 10⁴ nuclei/m², 10⁵ nuclei/m², 10⁶ nuclei/m², 10⁷nuclei/m², 10⁸ nuclei/m², 10⁹ nuclei/m², 10¹⁰ nuclei/m², 10¹¹ nuclei/m²,10¹² nuclei/m², 10¹³ nuclei/m², 10¹⁴ nuclei/m², 10¹⁵ nuclei/m², 10¹⁶nuclei/m², 10¹⁷ nuclei/m², 10¹⁸ nuclei/m², 10¹⁹ nuclei/m², 10²⁰nuclei/m², 10²¹ nuclei/m², 10²² nuclei/m², 10²³ nuclei/m², 10²⁴nuclei/m², 10²⁵ nuclei/m², 10²⁶ nuclei/m², 10²⁷ nuclei/m², 10²⁸nuclei/m², 10²⁹ nuclei/m², or any range within these values, eachmonolayer reactant density normalized as an average monolayer reactantdensity over the entire surface of the target electrode. In someembodiments, for example, the monolayer reactant density be about5.2×10²⁸ nuclei/m² normalized as an average monolayer reactant densityover the entire surface of the target electrode.

One of skill will appreciate that the reactor should be made of amaterial that takes into consideration the high temperatures andpressures present from the nuclear fusion reaction. Any material thatmeets this criteria can be used. For example, the reaction chamber canbe made of steel. Moreover, the stresses in the system can be reduced byoperating under steady state conditions where possible to avoid inducingunnecessary thermal stresses in the materials. It should also beappreciated that most any component of the systems and methods taughtherein can be subject to his criteria, and in particular those materialsthat form a part of the reaction chamber.

Methods of using such systems are also provided herein. The methods cancomprise, for example, evacuating the reaction chamber 305 to a pressurethat is lower than about 10⁻³ torr; inducing a pulse of (i) the firstreactant 329 into the evacuated reaction chamber 305 through a firstreactant port 325 and a pulse of (ii) a second reactant 348 into theevacuated reaction chamber 305 through the second reactant port 345;and, converging the first reactant 329 with the second reactant 349 atthe target cathode 365 for colliding and fusing 355 the first reactant329 with the second reactant 349 to create the heat energy 375. Theconverging can include, for example, creating an electrical field in thereaction chamber by applying a voltage (not shown) across the anodesurface 360 positioned in the interior of the reaction chamber 305 andthe cathode surface 365 positioned in the interior of the reactionchamber 305, the electric field ionizing the first reactant 329 togenerate the cationic first reactant 330 and ionizing the secondreactant 349 to generate the cationic second reactant 350. In addition,the converging can include establishing a negative charge on the targetcathode 365 for attracting and converging the cationic first reactant330 and the cationic second reactant 350 at the target cathode 365 forcolliding and fusing 355 the cationic first reactant 330 with thecationic second reactant 350 to create the heat energy 375. The methodswill generally include transferring the heat energy 375 to a steamvessel 380 to drive a turbine (not shown) to create an electricalenergy.

One of skill will appreciate that there are several variations possiblein the implementation of these process steps in series. Table 1 isillustrative of some of the variations.

TABLE 1 Step Embodiment 1 Embodiment 2 Embodiment 3 Embodiment 4 1 ValveOpen Voltage induced Voltage induced Valve Open 2 Gas leaves Valve OpenValve Open Gas leaves manifold manifold 3 Voltage induced Gas leaves Gasleaves Voltage induced manifold manifold 4 Ionize gas Ionize gas Valvecloses Ionize gas 5 Gas accelerates Gas accelerates Ionize gas Gasaccelerates to target to target to target 6 Gas hits target Gas hitstarget Gas accelerates Gas hits target to target 7 Fusion occurs Fusionoccurs Gas hits target Fusion occurs 8 Produce ⁴He Produce ⁴He Fusionoccurs Produce ⁴He and energy and energy and energy 9 ⁴He is ⁴He isProduce ⁴He Valve closes evacuated evacuated and energy 10 Valve closesValve closes ⁴He is ⁴He is evacuated evacuated 11 Manifolds fillManifolds fill Manifolds fill Manifolds fill

One of skill will appreciate that the primary steps of the methodstaught herein will often include (i) inducing a pulse of the firstreactant, (ii) inducing a pulse of the second reactant; (iii) ionizingthe first reactant and the second reactant; (iv) converging the firstreactant and the second reactant on the target cathode; and (v)collecting heat energy from the fusion reaction. Processes of cyclingthe fusion reaction include the step of evacuating the ⁴He from thereaction chamber. The possible variations around these primary stepsare, of course, numerous in many embodiments, and understood as mereprocess variations by those of skill.

The method can be cyclic by replacing the target cathode with areplacement target cathode to complete a first cycle of the nuclearfusion method; and, repeating the evacuating, inducing, applying,converging, transferring, and replacing for n additional cycles of thenuclear fusion method, wherein n is an integer that produces an at leastsubstantially continuous electrical energy from the nuclear fusionreaction. One of skill will appreciate that the number of cycles thatcan be run is a process variable that can depend on materials used toconstruct the reaction vessel and, thus the operational constraints ofthe reaction vessel, operational constraints of peripheral components,the preventative maintenance schedule set for the equipment, and thelike. As such, assuming at least the fusion rate of the LIFE systemwhich is 1,382,400 fusions/day (16 fusions/second) and a shutdown forrepairs no more than once per quarter, n can be about 124,416,000 cyclesfor a single reactor. In some embodiments, n can range from about 10 toabout 10,000,000,000 cycles for a single reactor. In some embodiments, ncan range from about 100 to about 1,000,000,000 cycles for a singlereactor. In some embodiments, n can range from about 1000 to about100,000,000 cycles for a single reactor. In some embodiments, n canrange from about 10,000 to about 10,000,000 cycles for a single reactor.In some embodiments, n can be about 10, 10², 10³, 10⁴, 10⁵, 10⁶, 10⁷,10⁸, 10⁹, 10¹⁰, 10¹¹, or 10¹² cycles, or any range of cycles therein,for a single reactor.

The practice of the method includes selecting the first reactant and thesecond reactant. One of skill will appreciate that the first reactantand second reactant can be any reactant useful in producing a fusionreaction using the methods and systems taught herein. For example, thefirst reactant and second reactant can each be independently selectedfrom the group consisting of deuterium, tritium, and helium-3, boron-11,lithium-6, and a proton, in some embodiments. In some embodiments, thefirst reactant and the second reactant are independently selected fromthe group consisting of deuterium, tritium, and helium. In someembodiments, the first reactant is deuterium and the second reactant istritium. In some embodiments, the first reactant is deuterium and thesecond reactant is deuterium. In some embodiments, the first reactant istritium and the second reactant is tritium. In some embodiments, thefirst reactant is deuterium and the second reactant is helium-3. In someembodiments, the first reactant is helium-3 and the second reactant ishelium-3. In some embodiments, the first reactant is a proton and thesecond reactant is boron-11. And, in some embodiments, the firstreactant is a proton and the second reactant is lithium-6.

One of skill will appreciate that the pressure in the reaction chambercan be varied to any pressure that one of skill will find useful in themethods and systems provided herein. For example, the pressure in theevacuated reaction chamber can range from about 10⁻⁴ torr to about 10⁻⁹torr in some embodiments, and from about 10⁻⁶ torr to about 10⁻⁹ torr insome embodiments. In some embodiments, the pressure in the evacuatedreaction chamber can be about 10⁻³ torr, about 10⁻⁴ torr, about 10⁻⁵torr, about 10⁻⁶ torr, about 10⁻⁷ torr, about 10⁻⁸ torr, about 10⁻⁹torr, or any range therein. It should be appreciated that the highvacuum conditions existing in the reaction chamber permit the use ofhigh purity reactants that result in an optimized fusion reaction. Theterm “purity” can be referred to as the absence of the reaction producthelium-4 from the prior reaction remaining in the trajectory of thereactants entering the reaction chamber. The purity is obtained byevacuating the reaction chamber between fusion cycles. Likewise, thekinetic energy of the reactants traveling to the target cathode forcollision is also optimized by the high vacuum condition, because thereactants are likewise allowed to accelerate while remaining unimpededby the helium-4 product remaining in the reaction chamber from the priorcycle. Moreover, one of skill will understand that any appropriatevacuum system can be used. For example, such a system can be composed ofconventional components. In some embodiments, turbomolecular ordiffusion high vacuum pumps backed by rotary vane pumps may be used forthe evacuation of the reaction chamber. A Roots-type blower pump mayalso be used, in some embodiments, to assist in the evacuation of thereaction chamber. In some embodiments, an appropriate vacuum systemoperation for transient conditions may include (i) a pumpdown with aventing to atmospheric pressure to eliminate a back-diffusion of vacuumpump lubricants to assure a contamination-free reaction chambercondition. In some embodiments the vacuum pump system can include threevacuum pumps in series, a high vacuum pump such as a turbomolecular ordiffusion pump, backed by a Roots-type pump, backed by a rotary vane orpiston-type pump.

One of skill will appreciate that the positioning of the first reactantport and the second reactant port, relative to the placement of thetarget cathode, can be varied. For example, the distance from a reactantport to the target can be selected by considering various systemparameters, such as duty cycle, duty cycle number, duty cycle frequency,and the like; power applied to the system, power applied for a voltage,power applied for the electric field, power applied for the converging,power output measured, power output desired, and the like; maintenance,number and frequency of maintenance cycles used, number and frequency ofmaintenance cycles desired, and the like; performance, performancemeasured, performance of power output, performance desired, and anyperformance specification in general. Analogous to a combustion engine,the timing of the relative release of the first reactant and secondreactant can be adjust to “tune” the fusion “engine”. The relativeamount of each injection, relative timing of each injection, relativepressure of injection, relative frequency of injection, the design ofeach injector, such as injection nozzle, and the like, are examples ofparameters that can be varied and manipulated, along with the firstdistance and second distance, to optimize the energy output, and otherperformance parameters. Such tuning of the “fusion engine” (i.e. anysystem taught herein), for example, can be used to optimize systemperformance measured in terms of energy output, economy of operation,life of the fusion engine, frequency of maintenance required, profitfrom the operation, or any combination thereof, in some embodiments.

In some embodiments, the positioning of each of the system componentscan be adjusted to vary the first distance between the first reactantport and the target cathode and the second distance between the secondreactant port and the target electrode. In some embodiments, the firstdistance and the second distance are at least substantially the same. Insome embodiments, the first distance and the second distance are variedto calibrate and synchronize the collision between the cationic firstreactant and the cationic second reactant. In some embodiments, thefirst distance and the second distance can be independently selected torange from about 0.001 meter to about 30 meters, from about 0.01 meterto about 20 meters, from about 0.001 meter to about 10 meters, fromabout 0.1 meter to about 15 meters, from about 0.1 meter to about 12meters, or any range therein in increments of 0.1 meter. In someembodiments the first distance and second distance can be independentlyselected to be about 0.001 meter, about 0.01 meter, about 0.1 meter,about 0.5 meter, about 1.0 meter, about 2.0 meters, about 3.0 meters,about 4.0 meters, about 5.0 meters, about 6.0 meters, about 7.0 meters,about 8.0 meters, about 9.0 meters, about 10.0 meters, about 11.0meters, about 12.0 meters, about 13.0 meters, about 14.0 meters, about15.0 meters, about 16.0 meters, about 17.0 meters, about 18.0 meters,about 19.0 meters, about 20.0 meters, or any distance therein inincrements of 0.1 meter.

One of skill will also appreciate that the first reactant port and thesecond reactant port can include a configured nozzle, designed for aparticular embodiment. For example, nozzle flow design can be varied tochange the shape and speed of the first reactant from the first reactantport and the shape and speed of the second reactant from the secondreactant port. In some embodiments, the pulse of the first reactant orthe pulse of the second reactant is applied as a convergent flow on thetarget electrode. In some embodiments, the pulse of the first reactantor the pulse of the second reactant is applied as a divergent flow onthe target electrode. And, in some embodiments, the pulse of the firstreactant or the pulse of the second reactant is applied as a fan patternon the target electrode.

The reactant injectors can be designed for the injection of a particularreactant, to vary the amount, speed, configuration, or direction ofinjection, and the like. Any parameter associated with an injector canbe varied, including pressure of injection, amount of reactant feed tothe injector, the dwell time of the injection, and the like. Thisadjustment of amount injected and dwell time of injection might beconsidered somewhat analogous to the fuel injection system and camdesign of a combustion engine. For at least these reason, one of skillwill appreciate that the nozzle design can be independently selected foreach of the first injector and the second injector. For example, thefirst injector can be configured for injecting deuterium and the secondinjector can be configured for injecting tritium. Likewise, the firstinjector can be configured for injecting deuterium and the secondinjector can be configured for injecting deuterium. Moreover, the firstinjector can be configured for injecting tritium and the second injectorcan be configured for injecting tritium.

In some embodiments, the opening and closing of the valve that feeds aninjector can be referred to as a valve actuation cycle that includesopening the valve to a fully open position, maintaining the openposition for a brief interval of time resulting in the steps of thefirst reactant and the second reactant entering the reaction chamber,the first reactant and the second reactant ionizing, the first reactantand the second reactant accelerating to the target cathode, the firstreactant and the second reactant fusing to create fusion energy, andthen the valve closing and staying closed until the start of the nextcycle. The dwell time of a reactant feed through an injector, forexample, the first injector or the second injector, is a variable thatcontrols the time it takes to open the valve, how long the valve staysopen, and the time it takes to close the valve. As such, the dwell timecan be adjusted to control how much reactant enters the reactantchamber. In some embodiments, the dwell time to open a valve to feed aninjector can range from about 0.01 millisecond to about 100milliseconds, from about 0.1 millisecond to about 10 milliseconds, fromabout 1.0 millisecond to about 10 milliseconds, from about 0.1millisecond to about 5 milliseconds, from about 0.01 millisecond toabout 1.0 millisecond, or any range therein in increments of 0.01millisecond. In some embodiments, the dwell time to maintain the openvalve to feed an injector can range from about 0.01 millisecond to about100 milliseconds, from about 0.1 millisecond to about 10 milliseconds,from about 1.0 millisecond to about 10 milliseconds, from about 0.1millisecond to about 5 milliseconds, from about 0.01 millisecond toabout 1.0 millisecond, or any range therein in increments of 0.01millisecond. In some embodiments, the dwell time to close a valve thatfeeds an injector can range from about 0.01 millisecond to about 100milliseconds, from about 0.1 millisecond to about 10 milliseconds, fromabout 1.0 millisecond to about 10 milliseconds, from about 0.1millisecond to about 5 milliseconds, from about 0.01 millisecond toabout 1.0 millisecond, or any range therein in increments of 0.01millisecond. In some embodiments the dwell time can refer to a “totaldwell time”, which is the sum of the time to open, time remaining open,and time to close the valve. As such, in some embodiments, the totaldwell time can also refer to a range of about 0.03 milliseconds to about300 milliseconds, from about 0.01 millisecond to about 100 milliseconds,from about 0.1 millisecond to about 10 milliseconds, from about 1.0millisecond to about 10 milliseconds, from about 0.1 millisecond toabout 5 milliseconds, from about 0.01 millisecond to about 1.0millisecond, or any range therein in increments of 0.01 millisecond.

Likewise, one of skill will also appreciate that the negative charge onthe target cathode can likewise be varied, increasing the electrondensity on the cathode apart from the voltage, to have furthercalibration and synchronization control over the collision between thecationic first reactant and the cationic second reactant at the targetcathode. Moreover, one of skill can vary the first distance, the seconddistance, as well as the charge on the target cathode to calibrate andsynchronize the collision between the cationic first reactant and thecationic second reactant. One of skill will appreciate that thiscalibration and synchronization of collisions might be consideredsomewhat analogous to the timing the fuel input, ignition, and positionof the piston in the combustion chamber to optimize the performance of acombustion engine.

One of skill will appreciate that the target cathode can be constructedof a variety of different materials. For example, the target cathode canbe any conducting material. In some embodiments, the target cathode cancomprise a metal. In some embodiments, for example, the target cathodecan be comprised of aluminum or an aluminum alloy. In some embodiments,the target cathode can be comprised of a metal selected from the groupconsisting of aluminum, antimony, barium, bismuth, boron, carbon (e.g.,amorphous, diamond, graphene, graphite), cadmium, calcium, chromium,cobalt, copper, gold, iridium, iron, lead, magnesium, manganese,mercury, molybdenum, nickel, platinum, potassium, rhenium, silver,sodium, steel, tantalum, tellurium, tin, titanium, tungsten, uranium,vanadium, zinc, and alloys thereof. The target cathode can comprise asemiconductor or conductive polymer, in some embodiments. In someembodiments, the target can comprise water or a conductive plasma.

In some embodiments, one or more shields can be used to protect thefirst reactant port and the second reactant port from the heat and/orproducts of the fusion reaction. As such, in some embodiments, thesystems can further comprise a shield between the first injector and thetarget electrode, between the second injector and the target electrode,or a combination thereof.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate a reactor node having multiple reactant portsprotected by a reactant nozzle shield in a system and method forobtaining nuclear fusion energy using a high energy charged particlecollision, according to some embodiments. FIG. 4A illustrates anexpanded view of a shield 405 that is used to protect multiple reactantports, each of which are used for inducing pulses of reactants, such asdeuterium, ²H, and tritium, ³H, into a reaction chamber (not shown). Theshield 405 protects the multiple reactant ports 410 from the output ofthe fusion reaction to avoid any deleterious effects on the reactantports including, for example, the deposition of neutrons or damage fromdirect exposure to the exothermic output from the fusion. FIG. 4B is across-sectional view of a reaction chamber 400 of the use of the shield405 to protect multiple reactant ports inside the reaction chamber 400.As shown the pulses of reactants that include the deuterium, ²H, andtritium, ³H, which are injected into the reaction chamber 400 andionized by an electric field to form a cationic deuterium, ²H, reactantand a cationic tritium, ³H, reactant. The shield 405 protects themultiple reactant ports 410 from the output of the fusion reaction toavoid the deleterious effects on the reactant ports. The electrode 415carries a negative charge as the target cathode, and the cationicdeuterium and cationic tritium converge to the target cathode 415 forcollision and fusion. FIG. 4B can be referred to as a single reactor“node”, in some embodiments. In some embodiments, a “reactor node” canbe defined as having (i) a target cathode; (ii) at least two reactantports; (iii) a chamber wall for conducting the heat energy out of thereactor vessel; and (iv) an anode to establish the voltage with thetarget cathode, wherein the anode can be the chamber wall. In someembodiments, a “reactor node” can be defined as having (i) a targetcathode; (ii) at least two reactant ports; (iii) a shield to protect theat least two reactant ports; (iv) a chamber wall for conducting the heatenergy out of the reactor vessel; and (v) an anode to establish thevoltage with the target cathode, wherein the anode can be the chamberwall.

FIG. 5 is a process flow chart for obtaining nuclear fusion energy usinga high energy charged particle collision through a reactor node havingmultiple reactant ports protected by a reactant nozzle shield, accordingto some embodiments. FIG. 5 is a representation of the reactor node ofFIG. 4B, using the illustration of FIG. 4B to shown the process steps.In step 1, 505, the reactants enter the reaction chamber the deuterium,²H, and tritium, ³H, which are injected into the reaction chamber 400and are ionized step 2, 510, by an electric field to form a cationicdeuterium, ²H, reactant and a cationic tritium, ³H, reactant. In someembodiments, photonic energy may also be applied to supplement theionization of the reactants. The cationic deuterium, ²H, reactant and acationic tritium, ³H, accelerate to the electrode which is the targetcathode 415 in step 3, 515. The shield 405 protects the multiplereactant ports 410 from the output of the fusion reaction that occurs instep 4, 520, to avoid the deleterious effects on the reactant ports 410.The electrode 415 carries a negative charge as the target cathode, andthe cationic deuterium and cationic tritium converge to the targetcathode 415 for collision and fusion. Steps 1-4, 515-520, representmerely one cycle of fusion. In some embodiments, the fusion reactor hasmultiple cycles, and the cycles can be separated by an additional stepof evacuating the reaction chamber to remove fusion products, such as⁴He and neutrons, and increase the performance of the next reactioncycle. The neutrons may stick to the walls of the reaction vessel.

A single reactor node can have a single target cathode, in someembodiments. However, in some embodiments, a single reactor node canhave more than one target cathode. In some embodiments, for example, asingle reactor node might have 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or moretarget cathodes. In some embodiments, a single reactor node can have oneor more cage or mesh type target cathodes, a configuration that may beimplemented for at least the reasons taught herein. In some embodiments,a reactor vessel can have more than one reactor node. In someembodiments, the reactor vessel can have a single reaction chamber withmore than a single node, for example, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, ormore reactor nodes. In some embodiments a reactor vessel can have asingle reaction chamber or more than one reaction chamber. In someembodiments, for example, the reactor vessel might have 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,7, 8, 9, 10, or more reaction chambers. Each reaction chamber in eachreactor vessel can have multiple reactor nodes.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional top view (or bottom view) of a multi-node,high vacuum reactor for obtaining nuclear fusion energy using a highenergy charged particle collision, each reactor node having multiplereactant ports protected by a reactant nozzle shield and a targetelectrode, according to some embodiments. In FIG. 6 , the multi-node,high vacuum reactor 600 has 6 reactor nodes, only one of which islabeled in the diagram for purposes of clarity, the others serving asmerely additional nodes having the same structure for purposes of theillustration. It is possible, however, for each of the nodes to have anindependent configuration that is not the same as all other nodes, atleast in some embodiments. The system has a single reaction chamber 605is shared by each of the 6 reactor nodes and configured for evacuationof the reaction chamber 605 to a pressure that is lower than about 10⁻³torr; a vacuum port 610 adapted for an operable connection to a vacuumsource (not shown for evacuating the reaction chamber 605 to a pressurethat is lower than about 10⁻³ torr; a first injector (not shown) inoperable communication with a first reactant port 625 for a firstreactant (shown in dotted lines behind a shield 607) in the evacuatedreaction chamber 605 for inducing a pulse of a first reactant (notshown) into the evacuated reaction chamber 605 through the firstreactant port 625; a second injector (not shown) in operablecommunication with a second reactant port 645 for a second reactant(shown in dotted lines behind a shield 607) in the evacuated reactionchamber 605 for inducing a pulse of a second reactant (not shown) intothe evacuated reaction chamber 605 through the second reactant port 645;an anode surface 660 and a cathode surface 665, which in this embodimentis the target cathode, for operably connecting to a voltage source (notshown), the anode surface 660 and the cathode surface 665 positioned inthe interior of the reaction chamber 605 to create an electric field inthe evacuated reaction chamber 605 upon application of a voltage 660,665, the electric field ionizing the first reactant (not shown) togenerate a cationic first reactant (not shown) and ionizing the secondreactant (not shown) to generate a cationic second reactant (not shown);a target cathode 665 positioned in the reaction chamber 605 at a firstdistance (distance between 625 and 665) from the first injector 625 anda second distance (distance between 645 and 665) from the secondinjector 640, the target cathode 665 configured to function as anegatively charged electrode for attracting and converging the cationicfirst reactant (not shown) and the cationic second reactant (not shown)at the target cathode 665 for colliding and fusing the cationic firstreactant (not shown) with the cationic second reactant (not shown) tocreate a heat energy 675; a steam chamber 680 in operable contact withthe reaction chamber 605, the steam chamber 680 configured for receivingthe heat energy (not shown) from the fusion reaction (not shown) in thereaction chamber 605. The voltage applied to attract and converge thereactants at the target cathode 665 can be referred to as the “bias”, insome embodiments, indicating the use of voltage to generate a force totransport the cationic reactants (not shown) to the target cathode 665for the collision and fusion.

FIGS. 7A-7E include a perspective view of a portion of a multi-node,high vacuum reactor for obtaining nuclear fusion energy using a highenergy charged particle collision, each reactor node having multiplereactant ports protected by a reactant nozzle shield and a targetelectrode, in addition to insulated target electrode assemblies,according to some embodiments. In FIG. 7 , the multi-node, high vacuumreactor 600 of FIG. 6 is shown from the perspective view for a betterview of the relationship between the target cathode 665 as it relates toits insulator 667, shield 607, the reactant ports 625, 645, and the wall606 of the reaction chamber 605 in each the 6 reactor nodes. FIGS. 7A-7Cillustrate an insulator 667 for a conducting wire 663 that is operablyconnected to the target cathode 665. FIG. 7D illustrate a cross-sectionof the insulator 667 for the conducting wire 663 that is operablyconnected to the target cathode 665. FIG. 7E illustrates a side view ofthe distal end of the insulator 667 for the conducting wire 663 that isoperably connected to the target cathode 665. All dimensions shown arenot limiting, are for example only, and are in meters.

FIG. 8 shows an expanded view of a portion of a multi-node, high vacuumreactor for obtaining nuclear fusion energy using a high energy chargedparticle collision, including reactor nodes in a high vacuum reactorchamber, reactant injector ports with injector valves for each node, atarget tray with cassettes providing replacement target electrodes, anda steam chamber for capturing and moving nuclear fusion energy in theform of steam to a steam turbine to create electricity, according tosome embodiments. The multi-node, high vacuum reactor 800 has 5 reactornodes in the high vacuum reactor chamber 805 as can be seen from theillustration. The reactor chamber 805 is surrounded by a steam chamber850 for the energy capture and transfer of energy to a steam turbine,for example, to produce electricity. A target load/switch-out assembly890 with cassettes 895 carrying extra target cathodes 865 is alsoprovided. Also included is a set of one type of reactant valves 899which, in this case are designed as damped deuterium-tritium manifoldswith reactant staging regions. It should be appreciated that any valveconfiguration known to one of skill can be used in the process ofinducing a pulse of reactant into the reaction chamber 805. Thefollowing FIGS. 9A-13 provide more detail on the components of themulti-node, high vacuum reactor 800. All dimensions shown are notlimiting, are for example only, and are in meters.

FIGS. 9A-9F shows a multi-node, high vacuum reactor chamber havingreactant injector ports for each node, and an insulated target electrodeused in each node, according to some embodiments. FIG. 9A is an expandedview of the reactor chamber 805, including the first injector port 813and second injector port 815. The reactor chamber 805 includesreinforcing ribs 823 to provide strength to the reactor chamber 805under the extreme temperature and pressure from the fusion reaction. Thereactor chamber 805 lid 809 also has the reinforcing ribs 823, as wellas the insulator 867 for the conducting wire (not shown) that isoperably connected to the target cathode (not shown). FIG. 9B is anend-view of the reactor chamber 805, FIG. 9C is a side-view of thereactor chamber 805, and FIG. 9D is a side-view of the lid 809. FIGS. 9Eand 9F illustrate a perspective view and a side view of the distal endof the insulator 867 for the conducting wire 863 that is operablyconnected to the target cathode 865. All dimensions shown are notlimiting, are for example only, and are in meters.

FIGS. 10A-10D illustrate a target load/switch-out assembly withcassettes providing replacement target electrodes for 5 reactor nodes,according to some embodiments. FIG. 10A illustrates a perspective viewof the target load/switch-out assembly 890. The target load/switch-outassembly 890 provides new target cathodes for each reaction cycle,replacing the target cathode consumed in the prior cycle. Thereplacement target cathodes can be supplied automatically at atmosphericconditions but are transferred to the reaction chamber nodes at highvacuum pressure levels. The target load/switch-out assembly contains thefollowing components: a cassette loading chamber (qty 5; one for eachnode) 891, a first buffer chamber 892 (qty 5; one for each node), atarget transfer chamber 893 (qty 5; one for each node), a second bufferchamber 894(qty 5; one for each node), and a cassette unload chamber 895(qty 5; one for each node). The progression 896 of changing the targetcathode (not shown) follows the general path in the component seriesfrom the cassette loading chamber 891 (shown with door 891D open) to thebuffer chamber 892 to the target transfer chamber 893 to the bufferchamber 894, and finally to the cassette unload chamber 895. The targetload/switch-out assembly 890 also contains a target transfer actuatorhousing 897 containing an actuator 898 for each one of the reactor nodes1-5. In FIG. 10A, the identifiers “Node 1”, “Node 2”, “Node 3”, “Node4”, and “Node 5” identifier the tray progression 896 lanes for each ofnodes 1-5. FIG. 10B shows an end-view of the target load/switch-outassembly 890. FIG. 100 shows a top-view of the target load/switch-outassembly 890. FIG. 10D shows a side view of the target load/switch-outassembly 890. All dimensions shown are not limiting, are for exampleonly, and are in meters.

FIGS. 11A-11D illustrate cassettes for the target load/switch-outassembly 890 for changing out the spent target cathodes from each fusionreaction, each cassette providing five (5) target trays, each of the 5target trays providing sixteen (16) replacement target electrodes,according to some embodiments. FIG. 11A shows a target tray cassette1100 containing five (5) target trays 1105, each target tray 1105containing sixteen (16) target cathodes 1167. FIG. 11B shows an end-viewof the target tray 1105. FIG. 11C shows a top-view of the target tray1105. FIG. 11D shows a side-view of the target tray 1105. The targetcassette 1100 can be held together using any operable means such as, forexample, by a tray frame or scaffolding 1101.

The cassette loading chamber 891 is configured to receive the targetcassette 1100 through a door 891D. The cassette loading chamber 891 isalso configured to be evacuated to intermediate vacuum levels(significantly below atmospheric but above 10⁻³ torr). After evacuation,the cassette loading chamber 891 then feeds target trays 1105 into thefirst buffer chamber 892 which is configured to provide additionaloutgassing of the target tray 1105 and it's replacement target cathodes1167. The target tray 1105 moves from the first buffer chamber 892 intothe target transfer chamber 893. The target tray 1105 is then indexed inx-y directions in the target transfer chamber 893 to align each of the16 target cathodes 1167 with the actuator 898 which moves the respectivereplacement target cathode in the z-direction through the targettransfer actuator housing 897 to transfer the respective replacementtarget cathode 1167 into the reactor chamber. In some embodiments, forexample, the respective replacement target cathode 1167 is moved intothe reactor chamber, and any remains of the spent target cathode can beretrieved. The target tray 1105 is then progressed into the secondbuffer chamber 894 and then the cassette unload chamber 895 which canfunction to accept an unloaded target cassette frame 1101 at atmosphericpressure, evacuate to intermediate vacuum levels, receive target trays1105 into the target cassette frame 1101, potentially having remaindersof spent targets from the second buffer chamber 894 for removal from thesystem. This target replacement process can be repeated for each cycleat each of the 5 nodes. It should be appreciated that the mechanism oftarget cathode transfer can be any mechanism, there can be any number ofnodes, and that this mechanism is merely an example of the cyclicprocess of replacing spent target cathodes in the reaction chamber for asustained series of fusion reactions.

FIGS. 12A-12D illustrate a steam chamber for capturing and movingnuclear fusion energy in the form of steam to a steam turbine to createelectricity, according to some embodiments. FIG. 12A shows an expandedview of the steam chamber 850 with lid 859. The steam chamber 850 isalso designed to accommodate the five (5) reactor nodes of the highvacuum reactor chamber 805 as can be seen from the illustration. Thereactor chamber 805 is surrounded by the steam chamber 850 for theenergy capture and transfer of energy to a steam turbine, for example,to produce electricity. Water goes into the steam chamber 850 and leavesas steam out of the steam chamber 850, as illustrated. A targetload/switch-out assembly 890 with cassettes 895 carrying extra targetcathodes 865 is also provided. The steam chamber 850 must also bedesigned to accommodate the passage of the first injector port 813 andsecond injector port 815 into the reaction chamber 805 (only one side ismarked in FIG. 12A for clarity, but the other side is complementary andcan be assumed to be a mirror image of the marked side). Like thereactor chamber 805, the steam chamber 850 also includes reinforcingribs 823 to provide strength to the reactor chamber 805 under theextreme temperature and pressure from the fusion reaction. The steamchamber lid 859 also has the reinforcing ribs 823, as well as theinsulator 867 for the conducting wire (not shown) that is operablyconnected to the target cathode (not shown). FIG. 12B is an end-view ofthe steam chamber 850, FIG. 12C is a side-view of the steam chamber 850,and FIG. 12D is a side-view of the lid 859. All dimensions shown are notlimiting, are for example only, and are in meters.

FIG. 13 illustrates a cross-sectional bottom view of a multi-node, highvacuum reactor for obtaining nuclear fusion energy using a high energycharged particle collision, including reactor nodes in a high vacuumreactor chamber, reactant injector ports for each node with mass flowcontrollers, and a steam chamber for capturing and moving nuclear fusionenergy in the form of steam to a steam turbine to create electricity,according to some embodiments. The five (5) node reactor can useconventional mass flow controllers 1333 to provide precise reactant flowinto the reactant chamber 805. The mass flow controllers 1333 can becalibrated to complement the reactant valves 899 which, in this case aredesigned as the damped deuterium-tritium manifolds with reactant stagingregions. The process gas flow is illustrated, with the deuterium, ²H,and the tritium, ³H, flowing through the mass flow controllers 1333 andinto the reaction chamber 805 for the fusion reaction that produces theenergy that converts the “water in” to the “steam out” as illustrated todrive a steam turbine (not shown) and generate electricity. Alsoillustrated is the evacuation of helium-4, ⁴H, from the reaction chamber805.

Without intending to be limited to any theory or mechanism of action,the following examples are provided to further illustrate the teachingspresented herein. It should be appreciated that there are severalvariations contemplated within the skill in the art, and that theexamples are not intended to be construed as providing limitations tothe claims.

Example 1. Calculating a Fuel Flow Rate

The equation describing the energy balance for a representative 2gigawatt (GW) power plant is as follows and assumes a 100% utilizationof reactants:17.6 MeV2_(H)(single molecule)+3_(H)(single molecule)=2.8198×10⁻¹⁸megajoule(ref:1)2 GWatt=(2.8198×10⁻¹⁸ megajoule)*(x/sec)[2_(H)(singlemolecule)+3_(H)(single molecule)](x/sec)[2_(H)(single molecule)+3_(H)(single molecule)]=7.0926×10²⁰/sec(x/sec)[2.0141u2_(H)+3.0160u3_(H)]=7.0926×10²⁰/sec(x/sec)[3.3234×10⁻²⁴ gram 2_(H)+5.0082×10⁻²⁴ gram 3H]=(2.3572 milligram2_(H)+3.5522 milligram 3_(H))/sec=[2.3572 milligram 2_(H)(22.4liter/2.0141 gram 2_(H)/+3.5522 milligram 3_(H)(22.4 liter/3.0160 gram3_(H))]/sec=(0.02622 liter 2_(H)+0.02638 liter 3_(H))/sec

Accordingly, for a 2 GW power plant, the fuel flow rate should beapproximately =1572.9 sccm2_(H)+1582.9 sccm3_(H) !!

Where:

-   -   x/sec=parameter representing the number of 2H+3H reactions        required per second to generate 2 GWatt    -   ex=10 to the x power    -   MeV=Mega electron volt (energy)    -   2_(H)=Deuterium    -   3_(H)=Tritium    -   GWatt=gigawatt (power, energy/time)    -   1 electronvolt=1.6021773×10⁻¹⁹ joule    -   1 watt=1 joule/second    -   1u=1 unified atomic mass unit=1.660538921×10⁻²⁴ gram    -   1 Mole of gas=6.022×10²³atoms or molecules=22.4 liters at        standard conditions (23 C, 760 Torr (14.7 psi))    -   sccm=standard cubic centimeter per second flow rate (standard        industry measure of flow rate)

Example 2. Calculating Relative Locations for the Reactant Injectors andTarget Cathode

One of skill will appreciate that the location of the injectors for thetwo reactants is determined by their transport time to target. Thisinterval is determined by their mass(resisting acceleration) and theirionization(producing force causing acceleration. The governing equationof rectilinear motion is:s=½a t ²

Where:

-   -   s=distance from reactor induction to target    -   a=acceleration due to the unbalanced force of the ionized        reactants in the electromagnetic field    -   t=the time of transport from the site of induction to the target

The distance for the 2 reactants to the target can be the same, forexample, due to the complimentary inverse relationship of mass toionization—⅔ ratio for mass and 3/2 ratio for force due to relativeionization.

Example 3. Calculating Target Cathode Size

One of skill will appreciate that the size of the target cathode shouldbe related to the reactant flow for the reactor, the number of reactionnodes, the output of the reactor, and the size of the reactant nuclei. Aconfiguration that offers a basis for establishing the physical reactionis a monolayer of reactant nuclei covering the faces of the electrodebeing impacted, recognizing that reactions adjacent to the target areanticipated either from same-side same-direction reactant collision oropposite-side opposite-direction reactant collision. This high densitynuclear condition is unique to the teachings provided herein, and itproduces a high reaction efficiency, as well as overcomes the inherentlimitations in other unsatisfactory development paths at otherfacilities/programs.

The true sizes of the atomic and nuclear species under discussion aredependent upon Bose Einstein Condensate behavior of the ionized bosonsdependent on local momentum distribution (“temperature”), energy densityconditions, and energy state.

Referring to the calculated fuel flow rate:(x/sec)[2_(H)(single molecule)+3_(H)(single molecule)]=7.0926×10²⁰/sec

And, using the area of the reactants, and assuming a one reaction persecond reactor frequency, gives:7.092610²⁰[(2_(H)(single molecule)+3_(H)(singlemolecule)]×(2)×(9.6211×10⁻³⁰ m²)=1.3648×10⁻⁸ m²

So for a 2 sided disc shaped target, the radius is ideally:r=√[(1.3648×10⁻⁸/2π)]=4.6606×10⁻⁵ m, or for a square targetI=√(1.3648×10⁻⁸)=1.1682×10⁻⁴ m

Where:

-   -   Average estimated area of reactants is π[2×1.75        fm(1.75×10⁻¹⁵)]squared/4=π[3.5×10⁻¹⁵]squared/4=9.6211×10⁻³⁰ m².

The diameter of the nucleus is in the range of 1.75 fm (1.75×10⁻¹⁵ m)for hydrogen (the diameter of a single proton) to about 15 fm for theheaviest atoms, such as uranium. These dimensions are much smaller thanthe diameter of the atom itself (nucleus+electron cloud), by a factor ofabout 23,000 (uranium) to about 145,000 (hydrogen).

Moreover, it should be appreciated that, under the conditions in thereactor chamber during fusion, the target will/may evaporate after eachreaction and replacement will/may be needed.

Example 4. Sizing the Reactor

The reaction chamber should be sized appropriately for the desiredenergy transfer, meaning that the exothermicity of the higher reactionefficiencies should be translated into the heat transfer surface areaneeded to maintain an efficient steady state process.

Heat transfer through the high vacuum reaction chamber to the steamvessel is required to drive conventional turbines to generate electricalpower. As such, it is the heat transfer through the chamber, maintenanceand fabrication, and the reaction process that govern optimum chamberdimensions.

Using conventional light water reactor general parameters as areference, for example, a 2 GW Nuclear Fusion Power Plant Reactor wouldhave 4 chamber modules each having a nominal 54 m² surface area. Heattransfer levels into the chamber wall from the reaction will not beexcessive resulting in chamber failure. A high vacuum reaction chamberfailure mode could manifest as a leak—where the heat transfer medium,steam, or atmospheric air enters the chamber and prevents the highvacuum conditions required for the process.

I claim:
 1. A multi-node reactor systemfor producing a nuclear fusion reaction, the system comprising: a reaction vessel having a reaction chamber having an interior, the reaction chamber configured for evacuating the chamber to a pressure that is lower than 10⁻³ torr; a vacuum port adapted for an operable connection to a vacuum source for evacuating the reaction chamber to the pressure that is lower than 10⁻³ torr; a plurality of nodes in the reaction chamber, each node in the plurality of nodes having a first injector in operable communication with a first reactant port in the evacuated reaction chamber for inducing a pulse of the first reactant into the evacuated reaction chamber through the first reactant port; a second injector in operable communication with a second reactant port in the evacuated reaction chamber for inducing a pulse of the second reactant into the evacuated reaction chamber through the second reactant port; a target cathode; and, an anode surface; and, a voltage source operably connected to the target cathode and the anode surface to create an electric field in the evacuated reaction chamber upon application of the voltage, the electric field ionizing the first reactant to generate a cationic first reactant and ionizing the second reactant to generate a cationic second reactant; wherein, the target cathode is a conductive material configured to function as a negatively charged electrode for attracting and converging the first reactant and the second reactant at the target cathode for colliding and fusing the first reactant with the second reactant to create a heat energy.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first injector is configured for injecting deuterium and the second injector is configured for injecting tritium.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the first injector is configured for injecting deuterium and the second injector is configured for injecting deuterium.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first injector is configured for injecting tritium and the second injector is configured for injecting tritium.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the reaction chamber is configured to operate at a chamber pressure that ranges from 10⁻⁴ torr to 10⁻⁹ torr.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the reaction chamber is configured to operate at a chamber pressure that ranges from 10⁻⁶ torr to 10⁻⁹ torr.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the target cathode is comprised of aluminum.
 8. The system of claim 1, further comprising a shield between the first injector and the target cathode, between the second injector and the target cathode, or a combination thereof.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the surface area of the target cathode ranges from 1.00×10⁻¹⁰ m² to 1.00×10⁻⁶ m².
 10. The system of claim 1 further comprising a steam chamber that collects the heat energy generated in the fusing.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the target cathode is a metal.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the target cathode is a semiconductor.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein the target cathode is a conductive polymer. 